Location, time, and context-based deferred notifications on a mobile device

ABSTRACT

A method and system for a first user to provide a future notification (referred to as a deferred notification) on second user&#39;s mobile device based on the second user&#39;s location are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application relates to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/495,935 filed on Jun. 10, 2011, entitled LOCATION, TIME, ANDCONTEXT-BASED DEFERRED NOTIFICATIONS ON A MOBILE DEVICE, which is herebyincorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mobile devices, for example,cellular telephones, PDA's, and the like, and, more particularly, tomobile devices incorporating a geographical positioning system (GPS)feature or other technology to enable the location of the mobile deviceto be determined. More particularly, various examples of the presentinvention provide a method and system for a first user to initiate afuture notification(s) on a second user's mobile device whereinnotification of the second user is dependent at least in part on thesecond user's location. In addition, users can provide themselves afuture notification(s).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, various examples of a methodand system for scheduling a notification on a user's mobile device byanother user are provided. In accordance with various examples, a methodand system enable one user (referred to as the “Sender”) having a firstdevice, for example, a computer system or mobile device, to structure anotification to at least one other user (referred to as the“Receiver(s)”) having a mobile device(s), using SMS, email, a webapplication such as Facebook, or a mobile application, to specify alocation at which the Receiver(s) will receive the notification at afuture time (referred to as a “deferred notification”). In accordancewith one example, the notification is deferred and received on aReceivers's mobile device when the Receiver is at the specified locationat a future time and is willing to accept such a deferred notificationfrom the Sender. In accordance with another example, the one user cansend a deferred notification to himself or herself.

An advantage is that the Sender can leave a message for his or herfriend(s) and/or family member(s) or even herself or himself(Receiver(s)) that will be sent at some future time, when the theReceiver(s) is (are) at a specified location. Accordingly, importantmessages can be created in advance, so that the Receiver(s) will receivethe message at the right place at a future time, and, preferably, whenany other additional criteria for the deferred notification have beenmet. The additional criteria for the deferred notification are referredto as “context” wherein, for example, context can be a Receiver'spreferences.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The various examples of the present invention will be described inconjunction with the accompanying figures of the drawing to facilitatean understanding of the present invention. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram which illustrates an example of the deferrednotification method in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a system for creatingdeferred notifications in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a system involving a socialnetworking web site for creating deferred notifications in accordancewith the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS EXAMPLES

In accordance with various examples of the present invention, a methodand system for one user initiating a future notification on anotheruser's mobile device will be described. In accordance one example, themethod and system enable a user (referred to as the “Sender”) having afirst device, for example, a computer system or a mobile device such asa cellular telephone or PDA, to provide a notification to at least oneother user (referred to as the “Receiver(s)”) having a mobile device(s),using SMS, email, a web application such as Facebook, or a mobileapplication, to specify a particular location or an area within a givendistance of a particular location and also a specified time windowduring a future time period during which the notification may be issued.

Referring now to the drawing, in accordance with an example, a firstuser, referred to as the Sender, sends a message that may be received byat least one other user, referred to as the Receiver(s), having a mobiledevice(s), using SMS, email, a web application such as Facebook, or amobile application, as indicated by the numeral 20 shown in FIG. 1. Inthe example, the sent message preferably contains at least a locationwhere a notification will become active and a time range or windowwithin which the notification will become active, and may also containadditional optional parameters that constitute criteria to trigger thedeferred notification. As indicated by the numeral 22 shown in FIG. 1,the message generated by the Sender preferably contains the followingparameters: at least one Receiver mobile device address (e.g., @To:John); a specified location (e.g., @Loc: China Town, San Francisco); aspecified time period (e.g., @TimeRange: 11:30 am to 9:00 pm); and amessage text (e.g., @Msg: Check out the food at China Delight) and/or anattachment, if any (e.g., @Attachment1: short voice message or otherattachment). The Sender message may alternatively or additionallycontain one or more of the following additional parameters: a particularlocation or a place (e.g., @China Delight); a distance range (e.g.,@Radius: 1 mile); an additional attachment (e.g., @Attachment2: web-pagelink relating to reviews of China Delight); and a date range from thecurrent date during which the notification is effective (e.g., @Expires:1 year from current date). Thus, the notification preferably contains amessage body including, for example, a short message text, short voiceclip, or other web content such as web-page links, as part of thedeferred notification. The message generated by the Sender istransmitted to a communications server which processes the message andgenerates a pending deferred notification event that is preferablystored in a database accessible by the communications server, asindicated by the numeral 24 shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the user who is addressed in the message (e.g., @To:John) may receive pending deferred notifications by launching a mobiledevice deferred notification application installed on his or her mobiledevice to enable communication with the communications server, asindicated by the numeral 26. As indicated by the numeral 28 shown inFIG. 1, the mobile device deferred notification application preferablyauthenticates the potential Receiver's identification by requiring alog-in such as a user name and password, and then preferably downloadsany pending deferred notification(s) to the Receiver's mobile device,for example, to a database in memory comprising the mobile device. Inaccordance with another example, the deferred notification may betransmitted by the communications server and received on the Receiver'smobile device only when the mobile device deferred notificationapplication is active on the mobile device and the location and timewindow and any additional criteria or context such as the Receiver'spreferences are met.

If the mobile device deferred notification application is active on themobile device of the Receiver, the application determines the Receiver'slocation using the geographical location feature of the mobile device,as indicated by the numeral 30 shown in FIG. 1. The Receiver'sgeographical location may be determined by GPS, WiFi, or other knowntechniques. As indicated by the numeral 32 shown in FIG. 1, inaccordance with one example, if the Receiver is at or within a distanceof a specified location at a future time within a time window and daterange from the current date, the deferred notification is triggered onthe Receiver's mobile device. The deferred notification is preferably inthe form of the text message authored by the Sender or in the form ofplaying a voice message created by the Sender. The notification isdeferred and only received on the Receiver's mobile device when theReceiver is at or within a specified distance from a specified locationor place, at a future time within the specified time window and daterange from the current date, and the Receiver is willing to accept sucha deferred notification from the Sender, as indicated by the numeral 32shown in FIG. 1.

Consequently, in accordance with one example, the Sender can specify aparticular location or a specified area within a distance of theparticular location at which the Receiver will receive the deferrednotification at a future time. The notification is deferred and receivedon the Receiver's mobile device when the Receiver is at or within aspecified distance from that location, at a future time within aspecified time window and range of dates from the current date, and thereceiver is willing to accept the deferred notification from the Senderas evidenced by the Receiver having the mobile device deferrednotification application in operation on his or her mobile device. Inaccordance with another example, the Receiver can choose to accept orreject such a deferred notification by selectively allowing or denyingmessages from specific Senders by setting a preference on the Receiver'smobile device.

The method and system in accordance with the examples of the presentinvention enable a Sender to send a location and time specificnotification to a Receiver, wherein the notification becomes active whenthe Receiver is in the specified location within the specified time. Themethod and system allow the Sender to generate a deferred notificationmessage by sending an SMS or email to a computer server, wherein thenotification contains a target location and a range of time. The methodand system also enable generating deferred notifications from existingsocial networking sites, for example, Facebook.

An example utility in accordance with a specific instantiation of thepresent invention is the ability for a user to leave a recommendationfor a friend or family member, which is triggered in the future. Forexample: User1 posts a Facebook message to User2 with the followingtext: “Next time you are @China Town, San Francisco @check out the foodat the China Delight for @dinner @”.

This message is delivered to User2's mobile device if the User2 is inChina Town in San Francisco and if it is dinner time.

Another example utility is one user posting a message in the form of aquestion on a second user's Facebook page. If the second user replies tothe question, the reply to the first user's message is triggered in thefuture at the requested location. For example: User1 posts a Facebookmessage to User2 with the following text: “John, What is a good placefor lunch @Location in the Mission District in San Francisco@?”.

A reply to the message is delivered to User1's mobile device if User2replies to the message on Facebook, when User1 is in the MissionDistrict in San Francisco.

In accordance with another example, the first user and the second userare the same person. Accordingly, a user can send a deferrednotification to himself or herself.

FIG. 2 shows one example of a system in accordance with the presentinvention for creating a deferred notification. The system 40 comprisesa client computer system such as a personal computer 42 running adeferred notification web application or mobile phone 44 of a Senderrunning a deferred notification mobile application to create a deferrednotification message in accordance with the method described inconjunction with FIG. 1. The message is transmitted via the Internet orWorld Wide Web 46 to a server 48 which stores the message in a databaseaccessible by the server. The deferred notification is transmitted bythe server 48 to a mobile device 50 of a Receiver running a deferrednotification mobile application via the Internet or World Wide Web 46.

In accordance with another example of a system 58 shown in FIG. 3, adeferred notification mobile application running on a Sender's mobilephone 60 downloads posts from a server 62 at a social networking website, for example, Facebook, via the Internet or World Wide Web 46. Theapplication converts the posts into a deferred notification message inaccordance with the method described in conjunction with FIG. 1. Themessage is transmitted via the Internet or World Wide Web 46 to a server48 which stores the message in a database accessible by the server. Thedeferred notification is transmitted by the server 48 to a mobile device64 of a Receiver running a deferred notification mobile application viathe Internet or World Wide Web 46.

While the foregoing description has been with reference to particularexamples of the present invention, it will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that changes in these examples may be made withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit of the invention. Accordingly,the scope of the present invention can only be ascertained withreference to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method by which a deferred notification isprovided, comprising: generating a message associated to a deferrednotification to be received by at least one user having a mobile device,wherein the generated message specifies an address for the at least oneuser's mobile device and at least a location or area where the deferrednotification will become active and a future time or future time rangewithin which the deferred notification will become active; transmittingthe generated message to a server which processes the message andproduces a pending deferred notification; selectively enabling theuser's mobile device under control of the user to receive the pendingdeferred notification from the server when a deferred notificationmobile application launched under control of the user is active on theuser's mobile device and all user preferences associated to the user'smobile device are met; selectively downloading the pending deferrednotification to the user's mobile device if the user's mobile device isenabled to receive the pending deferred notification; if the user'smobile device is enabled to receive the pending deferred notification,determining a location of the mobile device using a geographicallocation feature of the mobile device; and if the location of the mobiledevice is at the location or within the area specified by the messageand at the future time or within the future time range specified by themessage, triggering a deferred notification event on the user's mobiledevice; wherein the deferred notification is triggered on the user'smobile device when the mobile device is at the location or within thearea specified in the message at the future time or within the futuretime range specified in the message.
 2. The method of claim 1 whereinthe message is generated using SMS, email, a web application, or amobile application.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the message isgenerated using one or more posts downloaded from a social networkingweb site server.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated messagefurther comprises a question or at least one of a message text and anattachment.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the attachment is a voicemessage or a web-page link, whereby the deferred notification providesat least a message text and at least one of a voice clip and web-pagelink.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated message furthercomprises one or more parameters selected from among the group ofparameters consisting of a particular place to define the location, adistance range with respect to a location to define the area withinwhich the pending deferred notification will be effective, and a daterange from a current date during which the pending deferred notificationwill be effective.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the server storesthe deferred notification in a database accessible by the server.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 wherein selectively enabling the user's mobile deviceunder control of the user to receive the pending deferred notificationfrom the server is in response to the user launching the deferrednotification mobile application installed on the mobile device.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein downloading the pending deferred notificationto the user's mobile device comprises downloading the deferrednotification to a database in memory comprising the mobile device. 10.The method of claim 1 wherein the geographical location is determined byGPS or WiFi.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the deferred notificationevent is manifested in the form of a text message or in the form of avoice message created when the message is generated.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 wherein there is a plurality of user mobile devices andgenerating a message to be received by at least one user having a mobiledevice comprises generating a message which specifies an address foreach of the plurality of users' mobile devices.
 13. The method of claim1 wherein the message is generated by a user and generating a message tobe received by at least one user having a mobile device comprisesspecifying an address for that user's mobile device.
 14. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the message is generated using a computer system or amobile device.
 15. A method by which a deferred notification isprovided, comprising: generating a message associated to a deferrednotification to be received by at least one user having a mobile device,wherein the generated message specifies an address for the at least oneuser's mobile device and at least a location or area where the deferrednotification will become active and a future time or future time rangewithin which the deferred notification will become active; transmittingthe generated message to a server which processes the message andproduces a pending deferred notification; launching a deferrednotification mobile application installed on the mobile device when alluser preferences under control of the user associated to the user'smobile device are met to selectively enable the user's mobile device toreceive the pending deferred notification from the server; determiningthat the deferred notification mobile application launched under controlof the user is active on the mobile device and all user preferencesassociated to the user's mobile device are met to enable the user'smobile device to receive the pending deferred notification from theserver; selectively downloading the pending deferred notification to theuser's mobile device if the user's mobile device is enabled to receivethe pending deferred notification; if the user's mobile device isenabled to receive the pending deferred notification, determining alocation of the mobile device using a geographical location feature ofthe mobile device; and if the location of the mobile device is at thelocation or within the area specified by the message at the future timeor within the future time range specified by the message, triggering adeferred notification event on the user's mobile device; wherein thedeferred notification is triggered on the user's mobile device when themobile device is at the location or within the area specified in themessage at the future time or within the future time range specified inthe message.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein selectively downloadingthe pending deferred notification to the user's mobile device comprisesauthenticating the user's identification by requiring the user of themobile device to log-in.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the log-incomprises a valid user name and password.
 18. A method by which adeferred notification is provided, comprising: generating a messageassociated to a deferred notification to be received by at least oneuser having a mobile device using one or more posts downloaded from asocial networking web site server, wherein the generated messagespecifies an address for the at least one user's mobile device and atleast a location or area where the deferred notification will becomeactive and a future time or future time range within which the deferrednotification will become active; transmitting the generated message to amessage server which processes the message and produces a pendingdeferred notification; launching a deferred notification mobileapplication installed on the mobile device when all user preferencesunder control of the user associated to the user's mobile device are metto selectively enable the user's mobile device to receive the pendingdeferred notification from the server; selectively downloading thepending deferred notification to the user's mobile device if the user'smobile device is enabled to receive the pending deferred notification;if the user's mobile device is enabled to receive the pending deferrednotification, determining a location of the mobile device using ageographical location feature of the mobile device; and if the locationof the mobile device is at the location or within the area specified bythe message at the future time or within the future time range specifiedby the message, triggering the deferred notification event on the user'smobile device; wherein the deferred notification is triggered on theuser's mobile device when the mobile device is at the location or withinthe area specified in the message at the future time or within thefuture time range specified in the message.
 19. The method of claim 18wherein generating the message to be received by at least one userhaving a mobile device using one or more posts from a social networkingweb site server comprises automatically inferring location or contextaware messages from a social network to be presented on the user'smobile device at a time in the future.
 20. The method of claim 19wherein a user signs up once for a particular feed of information from agiven social network such that any information that has locationassociated thereto is automatically presented to the user at the time inthe future.